Before The Scar
by TheDoePatronus
Summary: The story of what happened in the lives of Lily, Severus, and James before that fateful night when the Dark Lord marked little Harry as his equal.
1. Beginnings: Part One

1- Prologue: Part 1

A/N: Just to clarify, this is NOT a Severus/Lily story, nor is the whole story about Severus in the third person!!! The first few chapters may make it seem that way, but it ISN'T! Trust me. This is my Lily/James story that has been in the making for a couple years now, but once I read Deathly Hallows I *HAD* to write in Severus' part in the story...! Just wanted to make that clear. Okay, now please enjoy.

A small boy with lengthy black hair hurriedly pushed his way through the many shrubs that surrounded the park he had previously been playing in. He was going to be late. That was the sorry price he had to pay for straying from the sidewalks that trailed through the wooded park.

His footsteps pounded swiftly upon the pavement that, had the boy not been wearing shoes, would have burnt his feet due to the all-consuming summer heat. His eyes focused on the ground as he moved along, not glancing right or left until he heard a series of high-pitched giggles.

He glanced over to the other side of the street where he saw a small girl with strawberry blonde hair who might have been a little older than him happily playing with a pair of dolls. He sneered disdainfully at the pitiful means that Muggles developed to entertain themselves. Of course, though he was a wizard, his means of entertainment did not run very far from the girl's... But that wasn't his choice.

Just as the boy's line of vision was about to pass away from the girl's house, he caught a brilliant flash of red in the corner of his eye. He stopped short and quickly turned back to face the home. Another girl with dark red hair had run around the side of the house and joined the first, and a large, chocolate-colored Labrador retriever had followed the second girl to the yard. The red-haired girl was now lying on the grass, smiling up at the older girl. She reached her hand imploringly toward one of the dolls. The other girl took the doll just out of reach, but, after a few moments, reluctantly delivered the doll into the younger girl's arms.

Suddenly, the boy saw the blonde's shoulders tense up. She looked shrewdly around, and one pair of dark eyes met another. Her mouth was slightly parted, but before she had a chance to say anything, the boy was off and running, his oversized coat flapping behind him. He was already going to be late.

The boy walked into the house softly, hoping to steal up to his room and get away with pretending he had been home for a while.

"Severus? Is that you coming in?" a woman's voice called out. Caught.

The boy replied with a reluctant, "Yes Mum," while thinking resentfully, 'and if you weren't such a coward and dad wasn't a pessimistic control freak, you would not only know it was me walking in the door, but who was walking in the door of every single house within a fifty mile radius.' But of course, in the small little dilapidated house on Spinner's End, that was forbidden.

Severus Snape walked warily into the small, sparsely decorated room where his mother sat, slowly rocking back and forth on a decrepit old rocking chair. It was probably the most valuable thing in the room, even including the old, broken telly, which his father was currently watching from his perch on the under-stuffed grey sofa.

"See, Tobias, I told you it would be fine".

"He's late."

"Only by a few minutes."

Severus waited for the ranting and the raging, but it never came. His father must not have gone into the pub today.

"Be away with you," grunted his father as he gestured his hand towards the doorway, never taking his eyes from the telly. Severus glanced at his mother, who gave him a look of relief in return, before leaving the room and making the climb up the stairs to his own room.

Severus sank blissfully onto his bed, deeply thankful that the explosive scene he had been imagining the entire way home had not come to be. He glanced distastefully around the room that held little more than a pile of oddly shaped rocks and a stained kite with a missing tail that had never been used, and as his eyes found nothing of interest to him at the moment, he turned to stare at the ceiling and pulled a distastefully ugly pink and green afghan over his body.

As he gazed upwards, he thought of the two girls he had seen playing outside the house near the park. His father may force his mum to keep him in the dark about much of the Wizarding world before he attended Hogwarts, but he got information from his uncle. Severus knew that although the area they lived in was a Muggle neighborhood, it was populated by many witches and wizards who preferred a small magical community to all-wizard villages. Severus would have bet his own life that his father was not aware of this fact. He was aware of this fact, and he was still never quite able to discern which houses were magical and which were non-magical. Of course, that was probably a good thing, since if he were able to, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would probably have its hands much more full.

He wondered if the girls had been young witches or only Muggles. Perhaps he would venture past their house again tomorrow, just to see if he could figure it out...

Severus did indeed meander past the two young girls' house often after his many trips to the park. However, he never spotted anything out of the ordinary. The girls seemed to be normal Muggles. Severus shivered at the thought of possessing no magical ability. How dull life would be then… How dull life was now, even when he did have the ability… He told himself that it was because of the dullness in his life that his walks to play in the park had become more and more frequent, even as he watched the little redheaded girl shout and leap around her yard. Her hair spun wildly and caught the bright summer rays of the sun so that she looked like a dancing flame.

One day he arrived home to find that his Uncle Boros had come on a rare visit. Uncle Boros and Severus' mother sat together on the couch, chatting amicably, while Severus' father sat still and silent in the rocking chair, straining to catch mention of anything magical in the conversation. If the moment ever came, Severus knew from experience that his father would rise up shaking with rage and authoritatively demand that Boros be removed from his house.

Of course, Uncle Boros never stood for his brother-in-law's bullying, and he would simply Stun the man and continue on visiting with his sister and nephew like nothing had happened. Then his sister would glance at her husband, anxiously and often, until finally Uncle Boros would say with a sigh, "Eileen, I promise to return him back to full strength and wipe his memory of being Stunned. I know he would only take it out on you if I didn't." Then his mother would relax and everything would continue on until Uncle Boros set everything straight and left.

This pattern had kept up for as long as Severus could remember, due to his father's overzealous distaste for anything relating to the Wizarding world.  
Severus, though he was very young, was a very shrewd boy, and he suspected that his father's abhorrence for anything magical stemmed from a desire to retain control over everyone and everything. Severus assumed that when his father had discovered that there was a whole race of people who could easily overcome him with nothing more than a long, thin piece of wood in their hands, he had done everything he could to eliminate that threat by forcing it from his home, therefore retaining some semblance of absolute control and authority.

Severus had also gathered that the only reason he was going to be allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was because Uncle Boros was not about to let some measly Muggle detain a descendant of the Prince line from his or her magical education, and he had made sure that his sister's husband knew it. Severus' mother never would have stood up to his father so that he could receive his instruction at Hogwarts, and though he deeply loved his mother, he resented her for that fact. There was nothing in the world that he wanted more than a wand and the knowledge to use it.

Suddenly, Severus' thoughts were interrupted by the mad rantings of his father. Severus deduced that his uncle had once again mentioned Hogwarts, due to the fact that his father was yelling, "I swear, if that boy comes home from there and uses his wand in this house, there will be a price to pay! I won't stand for it! I was tricked into marrying a witch and I won't let my boy become a monstrous little warlo—"

"STUPEFY!" Severus' father fell to the ground, silent. Eileen gazed with pursed lips upon her husband's limp body, and Uncle Boros said to her, "You know, Eileen, I don't understand why you married the filthy Muggle in the first place. And I really don't understand why you don't just follow my example when he gets that way with you," Uncle Boros stated, shaking his head impatiently at his sister's lack of initiative.

"I…I thought Tobias would understand. I didn't know he would mind so much that I was… that I was different. And I never was a remarkable witch, so giving up magic when he's around doesn't make much of a difference to me…" Eileen Prince Snape replied hesitantly. Uncle Boros shook his head.

"Well you shouldn't have expected an insignificant Muggle to understand our kind, Eileen," he said softly. "And that line about you never being a remarkable witch is a load of rubbish and you know it. Who is the witch who was constantly winning awards for her outstanding progress in potions?" Eileen just looked away.

"Even if you don't want to admit it," Uncle Boros continued, unfazed by his sister's reluctance to continue the conversation, "you were remarkable. We can only hope that Severus here inherited your talent for potions, and not mine." Boros turned toward Severus and winked. Severus smiled excitedly back. It always was a good day when Uncle Boros came to visit.

"Boros, I'm sorry, but I think it would be best if you left now. I'll handle Tobias," Eileen said softly as her gaze went once more to her husband.

"All right then. I'll just gather up Severus here and take him for a quick walk, and I'll be out of your way," Boros said, grabbing Severus by the hand and leading him out of the house, and the two were walking swiftly down the rundown walkway and on to the street before either of his parents could recover enough to do anything about it.

"A Muggle," Uncle Boros muttered. "Don't ever get involved with Muggles, Severus. Sure, they're humans, like us, but they're just not up to our level, you know?"

Severus, though not quite sure what his uncle was getting at, nodded anyways, because he knew that was what his uncle wanted to see.

"Right. You'll be a bloody good wizard if I have anything to say about it," Boros said decidedly as he looked Severus up and down. "You've all ready got the look of one about you." Though his voice faltered as his gaze fell upon the ratty black coat. "Don't the kids tease you about that?" his Uncle asked bluntly, though Severus didn't mind.

"Yes, but you know they'd tease me more if I took it off," Severus replied matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, Muggle kids, especially the boys, can be even worse than the adults sometimes," Boros stated. "It's best even to stay away from the Muggleborns when you get to school. Well, real school." Severus nodded his head in understanding. He only attended primary school so that his father could persuade himself into thinking that he still had some air of control over his child's life, but once he got his owl from Hogwarts, he would leave that world behind. He would no longer be an outcast, but he would be with others like him, and he had been planning to make the most of it from the first time he was bullied by one of the Muggle children.

As they walked along, Severus' thoughts wandered once more to the little redheaded girl. She was a Muggle. According to his uncle, it was in his best interest to stay away from her, but surely it wouldn't be a problem if he were only near her, and not interacting directly with her.

"Well, I'll leave you here now," Uncle Boros said suddenly. "Remember what I said, and I'll try and see if I can manage to scrape up another Quidditch poster for you, all right?" Uncle Boros crouched down on his knees in order to give his nephew a hug goodbye.

"Bye, Uncle Boros," Severus said sadly. It was always a burden to say good-bye to his uncle and return to his dreary home.

"See you later, Sev," Uncle Boros said, smiling down on his sister's son, and with a loud pop, he was gone.

The summer flew by quickly, but not quickly enough for Severus Snape. Yes, he was teased and labeled an outcast at the Muggle primary school he attended, but at least there he could position himself in a lonely corner of the schoolyard or classroom and, for the most part, fade out from the consciousness of the other children. There at school, away from everyone else, he could also escape the melancholy atmosphere of his home, too. When summer came, and school was out of session, Severus had to deal with spending more time than usual at his less-than-happy home. Thus, Severus was almost glad to be returning to the Muggle school.

Severus sighed deeply one day as he plodded along the sidewalk. His father had been going through one of his phases where he was in a good mood; meaning soon he would return to being brooding and moody. Severus was wondering if today would be the day his father would snap back into his regular character and resume making life miserable for him and his mother, as he claimed his mother had done to him when she married him without revealing that she was a witch.  
Suddenly, all thoughts of his father flew from his mind, as he saw the little red-haired girl walking just ahead of him. He didn't know where she went to school, but she was with her sister and they both were carrying light-looking lunch pails, as if they were just arriving home, too. He watched them out of the corner of his eye as they entered their house with exclamations of joy when their mother arrived at the door with a batch of fresh baked cookies in a jar that she held out for them. Severus looked away quickly and wondered what it would be like to have a family like that.

Soon, Severus was once more walking up the overgrown walkway that led to his house, already filled with dread. By now he could hear his father raging. Yes, today was the day things would go back to "normal". Severus became more and more angry with each step that he took; angry that he had to live like this, angry that he and his mother were subjected to his repulsive, bitter father, and angry that he had gotten stuck with the kind of father who was repulsive and bitter.

Impulsively he threw his school things into a nearby bush and ran towards the park that had become a place of comfort to him over the summer. Once he arrived, he collapsed on the ground. Angrily he tore out fistfuls of grass, throwing them violently into the shrubs surrounding him as he determinedly held back the moisture that was gathering in his eyes.

He had lain in the park for a while, and now the sun had long ago begun its descent. Unwillingly, Severus gathered himself up off of the grass and started home. The thought of what awaited him there put him in an even worse state of mind. He could never be sure what his father's reaction would be.

As he passed the now familiar looking house, he saw the girl outside, playing with her dog. She laughed and laughed as she ran back and forth across the yard with her companion.

Severus thought bitterly, 'What's a few more minutes? I'm already in for it when I get home.' At this, he settled down behind a light pole near the end of the street, and he watched her silently, envying her.

After a few minutes, the door to the house opened and her mother came out, followed by a girl with dark, reddish-brown hair who was even smaller than the two other girls Severus was used to seeing.

"Lily! Lily, come inside and finish your homework! You don't have that much to do!" the mother called out as she waved a few sheets of paper in her hand.

'Lily.' So that was the redheaded girl's name. 'It suits her,' Severus decided.  
Lily wasn't paying any attention to her mother, still galloping around the yard with the dog.

"Lily! Come inside this instant!" At this, Lily stopped immediately and looked towards her mother, frowning.

"Aw, but Mum! I'm having fun! Can't it just wait a little longer?" Lily exclaimed unhappily.

"No, Lily! I won't allow you to slack off at the beginning of the year like I've done before! School is only going to get more and more difficult." The dark-haired girl clung to the back of her mother's knee and gazed at her older sister admiringly, but with a look on her face that seemed to communicate, "Lily, you'd better do what Mummy says…!"

"I don't want to," Lily said boldly. She crossed her arms and stared defiantly at her mother.

"Lily Marie Evans!" warned her mother. Lily only turned her glare towards the sheets of paper in her mother's hand. Suddenly, a strong breeze swept through the yard, catching Mrs. Evans off her guard, and it easily tugged the papers from her hand and sent them flying high into the sky. The young dark-haired girl followed the breeze-scattered sheets with wide eyes, and Mrs. Evans frowned perplexedly up at the retreating pages of homework her daughter was so reluctant to complete.

"Oh no," she sighed exasperatedly. "I'll just have to send a note with you tomorrow explaining what happened. I don't know how these things always happen to your homework, Lily…" She trailed off, wondering why it was that such things always seemed to happen to her daughter's benefit. "Well now, you just march on inside, this instant!" she said, once again the firm mother.

Lily flounced poutily into the house, followed by the brown dog, and the door shut firmly behind them.

Severus got up excitedly from his spot next to the light pole. That breeze was no coincidence; he was sure of it. It was just the kind of uncontrolled magic that a young witch or wizard exhibited. And Mrs. Evan's words flitted through his mind… 'I don't know how these things always happen to your homework, Lily…'  
Yes, the girl was a witch! She wasn't a worthless Muggle, she was a witch! Severus was sure of it. Well, almost sure. He would continue to watch her, just to be safe of course, lest he do something stupid and reveal the magical world to someone who would never encounter it… Yes, he would wait, and watch.  
He arrived home in good time, his pace accelerated by the jubilation brought on by his discovery.

His mood only improved when his mother gave him a warm smile as he walked in the house, and his father merely looked at him and said, "Well, up to your room, Severus." Severus did as he was told, and he jumped onto his lumpy bed with the ugly pink and green afghan, thinking of all the possibilities.

Maybe this girl could be his first real friend who would share his magical abilities. Maybe they would be in the same house at Hogwarts together! Maybe…  
But wait, if the girl really was a witch, she was surely a Muggleborn. After all, her mother had not yet recognized the magical signs in her daughter, and Uncle Boros had said that it would be best if he stayed away from Muggleborns as well as Muggles. But surely an exception could be made for the little girl with brilliant red hair…

A/N: I've gone through and done my major re-editing, and this is the result for this chapter. :) There really wasn't too much to do with this one, most of the huge mistakes are in the later chapters...

And btw, I would really love to hear your opinions, please! I'm interested to see how people respond to my writing (The idea of publishing a book in the future interests me), so I would really appreciate it if you would review!!! Thanks!


	2. Beginnings: Part Two

2- Prologue: Part 2

Disclaimer: Any scenes that seem familiar are probably from the chapter The Prince's Tale in DH. I re-wrote them, but they are, of course, Miss Rowling's creations.

"I call this one!" Lily Evans shouted out eagerly as she ran to the swing set on the playground. She happily leaped onto the seat of her choice and immediately began swinging back and forth.

"That's just fine, 'cause I wanted this one anyway," her sister, Petunia, said loftily. Lily only giggled and swung higher, her red hair flying madly around her.

Petunia scrambled onto her swing and quickly began to gain height, and for a while, the two girls went back and forth in silence.

Then Lily managed to go higher than she ever had before. Petunia, noticing the familiar gleam in her sister's eyes, shrieked, "Lily, don't do it!"

But Lily, with no regard for her older sister's warning, let go of the swing and soared above the ground for an unnaturally long amount of time. Petunia followed her sister's form with pale green eyes that were wide with disbelief. She knew that it was impossible, but it really did seem like Lily was actually flying!

Lily landed softly on two feet--entirely too softly for the height at which she had been soaring. She smiled triumphantly and turned back around to face her sister.

"But Lily, Mummy told you not to!" Petunia protested as she dragged the heels of her feet along the ground to stop the momentum of her swing. She stood up, and with a frown in Lily's direction, put her hands on her hips. "Mummy said you weren't allowed!" she said forcefully.

"But I'm fine," Lily giggled. Suddenly she produced a fallen flower and held it up to Petunia. Her green eyes, darker than her sister's, glinted mischievously. "Tuney, watch what I can do." The petals of the blossom began undulating back and forth, just as the now motionless swings had been doing moments earlier.

"Stop it!" shrieked Petunia.

"Why? It's not hurting you," Lily said as she casually tossed the flower away.

Petunia's eyes followed the flower to the ground. Never taking her eyes off it, as if she expected it to bite her, she said, "It's just not right". After a few moments, she slowly lifted her eyes to meet Lily's and asked softly, with a definite undertone of longing, "How do you do it?"

Lily shrugged uncertainly.

Though the girls didn't know it, Severus had been playing in the park earlier, and when he had spotted them coming, he had quickly scurried behind a bush. Why he had done that, Severus was not sure of exactly. Perhaps he was just used to keeping Lily unaware of his existence? But now that Petunia had asked that particular question, he saw the chance to finally reveal himself; he would tell Lily why she had these mysterious powers, and she would surely want to know more about the wizarding world. And he would gladly fill her in.

"Isn't it obvious?" he exclaimed in a loud voice as he darted out from behind the bush.

Lily and Petunia jumped in surprise and turned to face the bushes where Severus' voice had come from. Petunia shrieked and ran back toward the swings as soon as she saw the unfamiliar boy. Lily, however, held her ground.

"What's obvious?" she asked cautiously, eyeing Severus with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. He had an air of nervous enthusiasm about him. Just being near him seemed to infect Lily with the same excitement. She took a step closer in anticipation of what the bizarre boy was about to say.

A blush formed across Severus' face as he looked at Lily and whispered softly, "That you're…you're a witch." Lily gasped.

"That's not a very nice thing to say about someone!" she exclaimed. Swiftly she turned towards her sister and marched off with her nose in the air.

"No! Wait!" Severus called. An even brighter flush of color mounted his sallow cheeks as he darted after her. "You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with being a witch. My mum's one, and I'm a wizard."

"Wizard!" shrieked Petunia, who had now recovered from the surprise of Severus' appearance. A high-pitched laugh escaped her throat before she continued.

"I know who you are. You're that Snape boy!" Petunia sneered, eyeing Severus' dirty, overlong hair. "He lives down Spinner's End by the river," she told Lily, as if the fact of his residence should leave no doubt in her sister's mind that this was a boy they should not be associating with. When Lily made no reaction, Petunia started again. "Why have you been spying on us?"

"My name is Severus, and I haven't been spying," Severus asserted, staring at the ground, obviously sweltering in his bulky dark coat. Lily wondered why he wouldn't take it off. The heat was hardly more than she could bear in her light layer of clothing. Abruptly Severus looked up at Petunia and said spitefully, "I wouldn't spy on you anyway. You're a Muggle."

Petunia glared at the boy, trying to discern the insult in his words. Unable to differentiate, she finally said, "Come on, Lily! We're leaving!"

Lily obediently followed her sister out of the park, leaving the strange boy who claimed he was a wizard behind. However, her curiosity got the best of her, and just before she turned the corner, she looked back and caught the look of bitter disappointment on the boy's face.

Lily's heart softened at the sight, and she immediately thought, with childlike innocence, Well, what if he was just playing a make-believe game, trying to make some friends? From what I've seen, I'd bet he doesn't have many… Maybe if I see him again I'll say 'Hello''.

Severus watched the two girls leave, sure that he had ruined all chances of friendship with Lily Evans, the mysterious, Muggle-born witch.

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A few days later, Lily spotted the shabby-looking Severus Snape shuffling along past the park and, through much surprised stammering and stuttering on Severus' part, she managed to make amends with the boy. She left, cheerfully calling good-bye and promising to see him soon, leaving a dumbstruck Severus on the sidewalk, unable to see anything but a pair of startling emerald green eyes.

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A few weeks later, Severus and Lily were sitting in a thicket of trees set in the same large park where they had met. The sunlight bounced and glittered off of the water in the river--the same river, in fact, that passed through the town near Severus' house. The two children sat cross-legged on the ground, facing each other. For once, Severus had removed his coat, as he figured he was undercover of the cool, dark shade of the thickly-grown trees.

"It's really not a joke? Petunia says there is no Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?" Lily questioned her new friend anxiously.

"It's real for us. Not for her. But we'll get the letter, you and me," Severus said confidently.

"And will it really come by owl?" Lily whispered reverently.

"Normally," said Severus, "but you're Muggle-born, so someone will have to come and explain to your parents."

"Does it…make a difference? Being Muggle-born?" Lily inquired hesitantly, seemingly unsure of whether she wanted to know the answer or not.

Severus faltered as his gaze caught her dark red hair.

"No," he said finally. "It doesn't make any difference."

"Good," Lily said, relieved. She picked up a twig and twirled it in the air, gesturing back and forth, and it was clear to Severus that she was imagining sparks exploding from it.

"How are things at your house? Are they still arguing?" Lily asked. A little crease appeared between Severus' eyes.

"Oh, yes, they're still arguing," said Snape bitterly. He began to rip blades of grass from the ground absentmindedly. "But it won't be that long and then I'll be gone to Hogwarts, of course."

Lily dropped the twig and leaned in toward Severus.

"Doesn't your dad like magic?" she questioned.

Color flooded Severus' cheeks, as it always did when she got so close.

"He doesn't like anything, much," he answered.

"Oh." Lily leaned back against her tree, contemplating this. "Tell me about the Dementors again."

Severus had just opened his mouth to speak when a rustling noise made them both turn. Petunia, who had been hiding behind a tree, had lost her footing and inadvertently made her presence known.

"Tuney!" Lily exclaimed joyfully, but Severus had jumped to his feet.

"Who's spying now?" he shouted angrily, glaring at the strawberry blonde-haired figure.

Petunia, shamefaced at getting caught, searched her arsenal of words for something to put "that Snape boy" back in his place. She blurted out, "What is that you're wearing anyway? Your mum's blouse?"

Crack. A branch over Petunia's head came loose and caught her on the shoulder. She took a few bewildered steps back before bursting into tears and running away.

"Did you make that happen?" Lily asked as she rounded on Severus.

"No—no, I didn't!" Snape answered, his face betraying his haughty façade by showing hints of fear.

But his lie wasn't convincing enough for Lily, and after sending him one last, withering glance, she took off through the thicket after her sister, once again leaving Severus cursing his foolishness and looking crestfallen.

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"And you swear that you'll never let it happen again?"

Severus nodded eagerly.

"And you swear you'll say sorry to Tuney the first chance you get?"

More nodding. Lily studied him for a moment before saying, "Okay then. But don't forget. You swore."

"I won't forget."

"Well," Lily said, suddenly cheerful, the sullen attitude she had worn only a few moments before no longer visible upon her face, "what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know; whatever you'd like. I don't mind," Severus responded graciously.

"Let's go back to my house. We can play with Brownie; he's been feeling lonely ever since Petunia and I started school again. Rose is still too small to play with him the way he likes," Lily said conversationally.

She kept up a constant stream of chatter all the way back to her house, and that was just fine with Severus, who was content to take the chance to look at her without interruption.

Soon Lily was marching through her front door and calling out, "Mum, I'm home! And I've brought Severus with me!" Severus followed her tentatively through the door.

A smiling woman walked out into the hallway. She had a lovely face with the same green eyes as Lily, and her face was surrounded by straight, strawberry blonde hair like Petunia's.

"Hello Severus. It's wonderful to meet you. Lily is always talking about you." She held out her hand for him to shake and he took it, not meeting her eyes.

It was true; Lily did often talk about Severus. At first Angela Evans had worried about the game of "Witches and Wizards" that her daughter talked about incessantly. However, she had eventually waved it off as merely a phase brought on by the unusual things that often occurred in her daughter's presence, and the company of a similar-minded child who was willing to play along with her.

'No,' thought Angela, as she examined the awkward boy with the same shrewdness that Petunia had inherited (though the scrutiny was perhaps less harsh than Petunia's would have been). 'He seems harmless.'

And soon the two children were passing away the day in the backyard of the Evans' home with Brownie, the chocolate-colored Labrador that Severus had seen earlier (who had been named so by choice of Petunia when she was four years old). As they played, Petunia stared moodily down at them from the second story window of her room, cursing that awful boy and the day he had jumped out at her and Lily from the bushes, convinced that was the day Lily had started to drift away from her.

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Throughout the year, Severus and Lily's friendship continued to grow, strengthened by several meaningless fights that were quickly forgotten, Petunia's growing coldness towards Lily, and a bond over the strange abilities the two of them shared.

One evening the following summer, the Evans residence received a strange visitor. Daniel Evans had opened the door expecting to reveal a neighborhood friend of Lily or Petunia's or a surprise visit from a family member. He was not prepared for the oddly dressed man before him. In orange shorts, pantyhose, moccasins, a large, lavender sweater, and a top hat perched atop his receding hairline, the man was quite a spectacle. He was made all the stranger by the dignified air that hung about him, quite contrary to his outlandish outfit.

"Uh…er… Hello?" Daniel said, wondering what this could be about. His bright, blue eyes looked over the man once more as he wondered if this man was possibly being initiated into something.

"Good evening, sir. May I assume you are Daniel Evans?" the man asked, reaching out his hand to shake Daniel's.

"Yes, I'm him," Daniel said bewilderedly.

"Ah yes. May I please speak with you, your wife, and, of course, your daughter, Lily?"

Not sure what was going on, Daniel ushered the man into the sitting room and introduced him to Angela (who tried her best to conceal her astonishment at the man's choice in leg-wear and maintain a polite face) and Lily.

After they all were situated, the peculiar man began to speak in a hurried manner.

"I am Ardos Huxleford, Herbology professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am additionally accredited by the Muggleborn Assimilation Board. I am here to inform you that your daughter, Lily Evans, has been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

At this, Angela let out a gasp and glanced at her daughter, who was smiling rapturously.

Ardos Huxleford continued on, "I will be perfectly willing to answer any questions you may have after I give you the essentials of the information your daughter will need to complete her magical education. Now, to get to school, the children must arrive on platform nine and three-quarters at Kings Cross station before—"

"Excuse me," Daniel interrupted hesitantly, ruffling his dark brown hair in confusion, "but did you just say platform 'nine and three-quarters'?"

Though it did take several minutes and a table turned into a kangaroo later, Ardos Huxleford had to admit that the Evan's were not the most difficult people to convince that Hogwarts was not simply an elaborate joke thought up by the neighbors or mischievous family members.

Angela and Daniel Evans, who had always been quite tolerant and accepting, quickly got used to the idea of their second youngest daughter being a witch, once they got over the initial shock that such things existed.

In fact, the Evans were perhaps much more taken aback when they found out that witches and wizards largely populated the neighborhood they resided in. When they exclaimed over the fact that the magical community hid their existence from Muggles so well (the Evans had quickly adapted to the new terminology of the wizarding world) Ardos Huxleford exclaimed, "Oh, yes, I have authority to remove your Memory Charms now!" With great efficiency, he eliminated the charms that had modified their memories when Petunia had been chased down the street by a rampaging hippogriff at the age of seven.

-------------------

Lily was ecstatic that she finally had tangible proof that Hogwarts existed. The letter Ardos Huxleford had given her lay wide open on her dresser, and she often read it upward of six times a day. She was, however, quite disappointed that she did not get to receive her letter by owl, and she told Severus so the next day after she had joyously informed him of Ardos Huxleford's visit.

So it was with great pleasure that later that night Lily opened her very first letter that had been delivered to her by owl, to the thanks of one Severus Snape and his Uncle Boros, of whom Severus had requested to borrow an owl without his father's knowledge.

Excitedly Lily took the letter in her hand, hardly able to take her eyes off of the real, live owl that was now perched on her bedpost, staring at her arrogantly.

Finally she opened the letter to reveal Severus's scrawled writing.

We'll still be friends at Hogwarts, right?

Lily smiled and quickly scribbled a response on the back, sending off the owl through her window, watching it soar towards Spinner's End.

Severus apprehensively opened the reply, afraid of what it might say. He glanced at it and breathed a sigh of relief, smiling exultantly over the words that held so much promise for him.

Always.

-------------------------

On another day, slightly cloudier than the days of the previous summer, Lily proposed to Severus that they once again return to her house to play, saying, "I bet my mum's made some cookies. You know she usually does on Fridays. I think she's made my favorite today. Gingersnap."

Severus, who would have done what Lily suggested, cookies or not, was quick to give his consent. It was an unspoken agreement between the two that they would never venture to Severus' house to play.

As the two children walked in the door, Angela called Lily, Severus, and Rose (Petunia was off at a friend's house) into the kitchen to receive their cookies. All Lily and Severus caught of Rose was a fleeting, dark-haired blur as she grabbed a handful of cookies and immediately fled the room. Rose hadn't mentioned it to Lily, who seemed to hold Severus in such high esteem, but he made her uneasy. The faded black coat he always wore, along with his oddly cut, greasy dark hair, gave him the appearance of an oversized bat.

"So, have you ever actually been to Diagon Alley before?" Lily asked. She had found that Severus' visual description from an earlier day left something to be desired.

"Well, no; you know how my dad feels about all that, but my Uncle—" Severus was interrupted as Brownie bounded into the room with the energy that had been pent up in him all day. After making a lap around the kitchen, Brownie turned abruptly and darted for the table where Lily and Severus sat, his eyes on the prize of the still-hot, gingersnap cookies.

"No, Brownie!" Lily cried out as the dog leaped upward, but she was too late. Brownie failed to clear the table and crashed into it, making several cookies, letters, crayons, and various other items rain down on him.

"Brownie! Bad dog!" Lily admonished the mutt, but he had already sped through the doorway with a good amount of cookies in his muzzle. Lily sighed as she looked around at the mess on the floor, as any child would do when faced with a clean-up task. "I guess I'd better get to it."

Severus offered to help and though Lily protested at first, trying to spare her friend the trouble, she eventually allowed Severus to help her clean up.

"There, I think that's all," Lily said with a satisfied smile, returning to her seat, fully prepared to immerse herself in Gingersnap Heaven. Turning to Severus with a mouthful of cookies, she began to ask, "What do you—" but stopped short at the look of incredulity that had come over Severus' face as he stared at something on the table.

"What's wrong, Severus?"

"It's a letter--from Hogwarts. Addressed to your sister." Severus said the last part slowly as he picked up the letter and handed it to Lily to show her.

'No, no, Petunia can't be coming to Hogwarts!' he thought, wildly losing his head in disbelief and momentarily forgetting that Petunia was older than the eleven years of age that students started attending Hogwarts. 'She is the most Muggle-like person ever, and everything would be ruined if she came!'

Lily, however, did not share Severus' harsh feelings, though hers were admittedly still quite far from outright enthusiasm. 'Me and Tuney, learning magic together,' Lily thought, wondering what the outcome of that experience would be. Petunia's disparagement of magic had only increased in ferocity once she found out about the hippogriff incident. Lily glanced around quickly to make sure that her mother was nowhere in the vicinity, then tore open the letter. She frowned as she quickly scanned the lines of ink on the parchment. This was not the same letter that she had received from Ardos Huxleford. It was written in loopy writing and signed by someone named Albus Dumbledore.

"Can I see?" Severus asked. Lily handed the letter over to him, now thoroughly confused. Severus scanned the letter.

"It looks like she wrote the headmaster and asked if she could go to Hogwarts, too. And this is his response."

"Does she get to go?" Lily asked dazedly.

"No."

Lily wasn't sure how she felt about that answer.

"It looks like she practically begged him to accept her." Lily was too busy pondering why Petunia would have written a letter to the headmaster at Hogwarts to notice the scathing tone in Severus' voice.

When he finished reading the letter, Severus looked up and said, "I never knew that a Muggle could write a letter to Hogwarts. There must be wizards disguised as Muggles in the postal service or something…" He trailed off as he realized that Lily wasn't really listening.

"Come on, Lily, let's go out back and play and forget the letter. It doesn't really change anything," Severus said, taking a step closer to her.

Lily desperately wanted to ask Petunia about the letter, but she knew that doing so would only incite her sister's anger, which Lily was only too happy to avoid, especially since she seemed to be the focus of it more and more often lately.

"Okay then," Lily said, wanting relief from the confusion that the discovery of the letter had brought. She grabbed a glue stick from the kitchen drawer that contained various odds and end, and tried to re-seal the letter. Once she was done, she held it up and scrutinized it. It looked good enough to her. After throwing the letter back onto the table, she grabbed Severus' wrist, making him blush profusely, and dragged him outside where they played happily for hours, almost forgetting about the strange letter in their joy at one another's company.

A/N: Okay, so this chapter has been re-edited, too!

Any ideas for improvement would be lovely. Special thanks to those who have reviewed so far, and to those who are keeping up with this story! The next chapter will be the last of the prologue ones!! Then we will get to the story that doesn't jump forward so much all the time, which (as of right now) will begin around the end of their sixth year or so... If I don't change my mind. :) I remind myself of Libba Bray, always changing my mind...(author of A Great and Terrible Beauty--check it out, it's awesome!).

Oh my goodness, I feel like a terrible person! I totally didn't thank my betas in the last author's note!!! Gaaahhhh! Silly, silly me! Okay, so my beta readers are Severus/Lily, Mrs PotterWeasleyMalfoy, PadfootSQuidditch, and a girl named Katie from Perfect Imagination. They are SO awesome, and between them they catch all of my really stupid mistakes and my more serious ones, and they tell me when things are confusing so I can clarify and they are just cool and I am so thankful for them. :-D Yay for my betas!!! 'Cause they're super cool. I'm mean, they are really, REALLY cool. Heehee.

And lastly, reviews are greatly appreciated. Really. ;-) Thanks to all the people who have reviewed thus far!!! I really, really love it.


	3. Beginnings: Part Three

3- Prologue: Part Three

Severus bounded eagerly onto the scarlet-colored Hogwarts Express. His Uncle Boros had just seen him off, and Severus was elated to finally escape the exhausting presence of his father and the sorrowful expressions of his mother.

Luckily Uncle Boros had arrived that morning just in time to place yet another Stunning spell on Tobias Snape. Severus thanked whatever deities existed in the universe for his uncle. If it hadn't been for him, Severus surely wouldn't have been on the Hogwarts Express at this very moment, escaping from his former dismal life.

Severus pulled his dark coat tighter about his body as he dragged his trunk along behind him, searching for a free compartment. He tripped a little as the train began to move forward, his trunk slipping painfully over his left foot. But nothing could put a damper on his unusually gleeful mood today, not even the memory of his father's rage as he left the house with Uncle Boros.

Severus soon came upon an unoccupied compartment, and he immediately changed from his appalling Muggle clothes into his school robes. His eyes narrowed as he shed his old coat. There would be no need for that with his school uniform on, which was equally concealing but much less embarrassing.

After that was done, Severus hurried off in search of Lily. He had seen her on the platform, but hadn't had a chance to talk to her. He had heard snatches of the conversation Lily had been having with Petunia several minutes ago, and it hadn't sounded like it was going well. After a while, he spotted Lily's head of dark red hair amidst a group of boisterous boys in a compartment towards the front of the train. Eagerly, he entered, smiling slightly as he sat down across from Lily. She looked up as he sat down, and Severus saw that she had been crying. Before he could speak, she opened her mouth to say:

"I don't want to talk to you".

"Why not?" Severus asked in disbelief. He couldn't have possibly done anything to offend Lily. The last time he had seen her was a few days ago, and she had left smiling.

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw the letter from Dumbledore." Lily bit her lip as she desperately tried to refrain from bursting into more tears.

"So what?" he asked perplexedly. This earned him a scornful glance.

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a—" He stopped himself quickly, aware that if he finished the sentence, Lily just might be finished with him, no matter how forgiving she was.

He tried a different approach.

"But we're going! We're off to _Hogwarts_!" he said. Here was his chance for a real life. He didn't understand how Lily could be so melancholy about snippy old Petunia when they were about to embark on the beginning of their new lives in the magical world. However, the excitement in his voice was catching, and Lily allowed herself a small smile as she wiped her eyes with the hem of her shirt.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus, encouraged by her, albeit reluctant, smile.

This caught the attention of the other boys that were occupying the compartment.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin?"

Severus turned to face the boy who had spoken. He was thin, with a full head of messy, jet-black hair.

"I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" asked the boy, turning to another boy on the seat opposite him. This second one was quite handsome. Severus hoped Lily didn't notice that.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin," the second boy said gravely. Severus wondered at his apprehensive tone. It was an honor to be in Slytherin! How many times had Uncle Boros explained to Severus with reverence the privilege that it was to be accepted into the house of Salazar Slytherin…?!

"Blimey. And I thought you were all right!" the messy-haired boy exclaimed jokingly.

The handsome one grinned. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."

At this, Severus snorted disparagingly. The messy-haired boy turned on him at once, asking, "Got a problem with that?"

"If you'd rather be brawny than brainy—" Severus couldn't finish his sentence before the good-looking one interrupted.

"Where're you going, seeing as you're neither?" The two boys roared with laughter. Lily straightened up, glaring at the two of them in dislike. Severus breathed an indiscernible sigh of relief at her disgusted expression. She obviously didn't find the second boy attractive in the least.

"Come on, Severus. Let's find another compartment," Lily sniffed as she made her way past the two rowdy boys.

"Come on, Severus," they imitated Lily in singsong voices. The one with messy hair tried to trip Severus on his way out of the compartment.

Severus angrily slammed the door behind him. "Prats," he spat out viciously. This was not how he had imagined his new life would begin.

"Don't let them bother you, Severus. They're just a bunch of immature creeps. You're better than them," Lily comforted him.

Severus brightened at her statement and led her back to the compartment he had found when he first got on the train.

In his absence, the compartment had come to be occupied by a boy and a girl with fair blond hair and light blue eyes. They were still dressed in their Muggle clothes, and they were obviously twins. The girl introduced herself as Sophie Nichols. The boy said his name was Sean, and it did not escape Severus' notice that his sky-colored eyes followed every move Lily made.

Severus was comforted by the fact that Lily paid no more attention to Sean than she had to the bothersome boys from before, though she and Sophie did bond as they discovered they both like the same quidditch team.

Severus almost resented the intrusion on his time alone with Lily, but as the Hogwarts Express rolled along the countryside, his displeasure faded and his anticipation of their arrival grew as each blurry scene flashed by, and his thoughts became filled only of Hogwarts.

-------------------

Severus trudged slowly towards the stool, the hat, and the bespectacled, severe-looking professor waiting for him. He needed more time to think.

Lily had been placed in Gryffindor. He wanted to be in the same house as her, badly. However, the nasty boys from the train had also been placed in Gryffindor. He wanted _nothing_ to do with them.

He took his seat.

Uncle Boros had said that Slytherin would be the best for him. All the family had been in it. It was tradition. It was customary. Those of the Prince line were _always_ in the revered house of Slytherin.

The hat was placed upon his head.

"So, what'll it be?" the hat questioned him.

_Uh…Slytherin_, Severus thought hesitantly.

"Are you quite sure? It doesn't seem like you're very certain. You could do well in Gryffindor, you know. Well all right then, for you it will be SLYTHERIN!" The hat bellowed out the last word, and the students clad in green and silver clapped enthusiastically for him.

As he ascended, he spotted the two boys from the train (he now knew from watching them being sorted that the messy-haired one was named James Potter and the good-looking one was called Sirius Black) smirking at each other.

_Prats_, Severus thought forcefully. Then he noticed Lily gazing unhappily at him. He smiled sadly at her. She shrugged in response, seeming to say, "Well, I guess that's that and there's nothing we can do about it."

Severus turned away from her and took a seat at the Slytherin table.

His choice had been made.

A/N: Chapter three re-editing: done. :)

Okay, so this chapter was really short to begin with but then I realized I had something in here that might cause the rating of my story to go up to M and I didn't want that so I had to take it out. And the result is this even shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it here, so that's my explanation.

Well, this is the last of the "prologue" chapters, so I've gotta figure out how the next ones will go, and hopefully it won't be long til I get the next one out (but with me, who knows!). As of right now the "real" story starts at the end of sixth year, but I may change that. Sometimes I remind myself of Libba Bray… How I'm so indecisive and always change things, I mean. I read her blog. :) Oh, also, Lily is going to be the one to be narrating the story in a few chapters, so it'll be chainging to first person, but from time to time there will be other character's POVs, too. Que excitemente.

I'm also working on chapter images…! I love Photoshop so, so much.  
Thanks again to my beta readers and the people who have decided to keep up with my story!!!! I love you guys!!!!


	4. Fast Forward

4- Fast Forward

A/N: This chapter has not been beta read yet! Everyone got too busy for me, haha.

*---First Year---*

It was the third day of classes, and Lily was miserable. Oh, the classes themselves weren't hard at all. She hadn't had any trouble with them so far… Well, except for that little mishap with the Venomous Tentactula. But Professor Huxleford had sorted that out quickly enough.

No, it wasn't the difficulty of the classes that was bothering Lily. It was the fact that she had no one to talk to. Lily had thought that she and Severus would be together, learning magic and talking and laughing, without having to endure Petunia's stony glares. But Severus had been sorted into Slytherin, and she was left alone.

'_Well, it wasn't Severus' fault; the sorting hat put him in Slytherin_,' Lily thought. She remembered how the sorting hat had told her she would do best in Gryffindor and, sensing no reply from her, belted out where it would place her.

When Severus had gone to the stool, she had closed her eyes and crossed her fingers.

'_Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor…' _

But it was to no avail. Severus was put in Slytherin, and Lily was left alone.

As Lily waited for her Charms class to start, her thoughts grew more and more melancholy as she dwelled on her lack of friends. Sure, Severus was there at Hogwarts with her, but he had a different class schedule (except for double potions, the one class they shared) and it wasn't as if he could join her in the Gryffindor common room. And sure, no one had been outright _nasty_ to her, but no one had made an honest effort to be her friend, either.

Lily contemplated how horrible it would be to go through her seven years at Hogwarts with no friends at all. She thought of what it would be like to give up and return home. She imagined how Petunia would sneer at her, "So, you couldn't keep up with all the losers at that freak school? How _pathetic!_"

Lily cringed.

Then, out of nowhere, a voice asked, "You're in my dormitory, right? I'm sure there aren't many girls at this school with hair like yours—well, with hair that's _naturally_ like yours, anyway; it's quite conspicuous. Would you mind very much if I sat with you?"

Then, without waiting for an answer, a girl with bright, hazel eyes sat herself into the seat next to Lily, her dark-brown hair swinging wildly in front of her face. She began chatting away immediately as she removed items from her book bag.

And that was how Lily Evans met Elizabeth Owens, her best friend.

The months passed by in a blur for Lily. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she couldn't believe that she had thought about leaving it all at one point. She and Elizabeth were now practically inseparable, and often times Lily, Ellie (for that was the nickname that Lily had bestowed upon Elizabeth), and several other students, including Severus, would all get together and hang out down by the lake.

As the school year neared its end, Lily grew unhappy at the thought of leaving her new friends.

Some people, however, were overjoyed by the conclusion of the academic year and the prospect of a long and lazy summer holiday, and these people often chose to display their delight in an excessively uncivilized manner.

"How am I ever going to show my face with hair like this?" Lily fretted to Elizabeth. "I used to complain about my hair, wishing it was blonde or brown or something other than red. Now I absolutely--"

"Calm _down_ Lily. We have wands. Your hair will not be like this forever. Just shows how you should be careful what you wish for. Come on; let's get you to a teacher… Oh, what the heck, we'll just take you to the hospital wing so that new nurse can fix your hair." Elizabeth paused as she considered Lily's distraught appearance, fingered a piece of her friend's newly colored hair, and continued, "It's not exactly a medical emergency, but we don't want anyone in a classroom to see you."

Elizabeth led Lily into the corridor. The two friends walked speedily across the castle to the hospital wing, but they were not quick enough. They had to pass the Great Hall on their way and just as they made their way down the stairs, the stragglers who had just been shooed from breakfast by Professor McGonagall, as classes were about to begin, herded out of the Great Hall.

It was just Lily's luck. It was a Monday, so there were more people eating breakfast later than usual due to the exhausting events of the weekend (there had been a Hogsmeade visit on Saturday and on Sunday night some rambunctious seventh year Hufflepuffs had thrown an impromptu party in the secret passageway on the third floor).

"Hey everyone, look at Evans!" Sirius Black called out gleefully as he left the dining hall. The whole corridor turned to stare at Lily, whose normally flaming red hair now bore a strong resemblance in volume, texture, and color to cotton candy. Everyone began to giggle and whisper around her. .

"Nice 'do, Evans" said an arrogant voice Lily had come to despise.

"You did this James! You put something in my hair this morning! I know you did it!" Lily shouted angrily at him. Her thoughts flashed back to the first day she had seen James and Sirius… On the Hogwarts Express when Severus found her upset over Petunia's nasty remarks. If only she had known… '_If only I had offed him right then and there_,' Lily thought sourly, '_and spared myself the misery_.'

"Why, Evans! I haven't the faintest clue what you speak of! But I must say, the look suits you well! You're looking absolutely tickled pink this afternoon!" James continued in an infuriatingly frivolous manner. Lily cringed at his ridiculous joke.

The entire corridor burst out laughing now. Lily was desperately fighting to hold back her tears of anger and frustration. She didn't understand why everyone thought James' remark was so funny. _She_ thought it was rather predictable. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. She walked as fast as she could out of the snickering crowd, head held as high as she could manage. Elizabeth followed her for a while, but before she made her way into the next corridor after Lily, she turned back to let the boys have it.

"What did you have to do that for? Screwing up her hair wasn't enough, was it? You just had to embarrass her in front of everyone, didn't you?" Elizabeth yelled furiously at Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter.

"We were just having a bit of fun!" Sirius shrugged.

"You have a sick and twisted sense of fun," Elizabeth sneered at them. "It's not even that clever of a joke. You four shouldn't call yourselves the Marauders! You should be called the Imbeciles!" Her hands were on her hips and she was giving the four troublesome boys a death glare.

"Hmmmm. The Imbeciles. I think it fits, don't you Remus?" James asked his friend.

"Maybe it fits you three but not me!" Remus Lupin said sternly. He had played a part in turning Lily's hair into something that would look at home within a circus tent, it was true, but he had not planned on James making it worse by teasing her in front of so many students.

Peter Pettigrew, who had been laughing before, was now standing cautiously off to the side, making sure he was out of range of Elizabeth's wrath. His eyes darted back and forth between James and Elizabeth, eager to see who would prevail in the battle.

"You're all pathetic. Get a life, "Elizabeth said scornfully, and with that she hurried off after Lily, but not before giving the Marauders one last fierce look.

James turned and smiled smugly at Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "Good work, all. That went better than I expected. No teacher intervention, and Owens and Evans didn't do anything but screech at us, so I'd say—"

"_Diffindo_!" came two shouts echoing around the corner. There was a ripping sound, and James and Sirius found themselves with pants that had ripped down the middle, revealing two sets of boxer shorts, one red-and-white striped (Sirius') and one in a sort of green plaid pattern (James'). The whole corridor burst into laughter again.

"Bugger, these were my favorite pants!" Sirius howled angrily. Remus and Peter were laughing together off to the side.

"Would you still say it went well, James?" Remus asked as he smirked at his friend, one eyebrow raised in question.

"Quite. No permanent damage. And we'll get our revenge on the girls somehow," James said, surprisingly indifferent for someone who had just suffered the epitome of the adolescent embarrassing moment. He twisted around in order to observe the damage.

"Remus, help me out here, will you?"

"Sure. _Reparo_!" Remus chanted. He flicked his wand, but nothing happened.

"Maybe Peter should give it a try," James said.

"_Reparo_!" Again, nothing. "They must have done something to make them irreparable," Remus realized, laughing again at the fact that James and Sirius would have to wander through the crowded halls back to Gryffindor tower in their present state.

"Well then, let's beat it before McGonagall gives us detention for indecent exposure." Sirius said.

"Again," Peter added.

"Aah, good times," Sirius sighed. He looked back down at his pants, shook his head, and said again, "Bugger!"

------------------

*---September, Third Year---*

"Lily, look." Elizabeth nudged Lily's elbow with her own, 'causing Lily to pull her hand back from the delicious looking eggs and bacon in front of her. It was the first full day of their third year, and Lily was overjoyed to be back. Petunia's nagging had only grown worse over the past two years.

Lily followed Elizabeth's gaze and saw a girl who looked about their age sitting alone a few spots down from them at the Gryffindor table. This was odd; if the girl really was their age, but Lily and Elizabeth didn't know who she was, that meant she had just started at Hogwarts. It was unusual for a witch or wizarding student to transfer schools.

Lily glanced back at her friend and saw that Elizabeth was greatly perplexed, though Lily correctly guessed that it was merely because Elizabeth had made it her personal mission in life to know and be known to the entire population of Hogwarts. Lily could predict what her friend was going to do before Elizabeth had even made up her mind to do it.

"Let's go introduce ourselves, shall we?" Elizabeth got up and walked towards the girl. Lily followed after her, smiling to herself.

"Hello, I'm Elizabeth Owens," Elizabeth said cheerfully. As the girl turned to face Elizabeth, her straw-colored hair, which was pulled back into a pony-tail that reached most of the way down her back, swung wildly around.

"Hello," she said, grinning happily. "No one else has introduced themselves yet. Then again, I did only just arrive late last night, after the sorting and after everyone had gone to bed."

"No one else is as friendly and charming as us," Elizabeth told the girl with certainty. "And this is Lily Evans."

The girl turned to Lily, who found herself gazing into a pair of big, dark grey eyes. "It's a pleasure," Lily said, holding her hand out. The girl shook it warmly, and as she drew her hand back, she exclaimed,

"Oh! I've forgotten. I'm Summer." Her eyes crinkled at the edges as she laughed at herself for forgetting to tell Elizabeth and Lily her own name. "Summer Lee."

"Quite an appropriate name," Elizabeth said, glancing at Summer's golden tresses. "So what brings you to Hogwarts? That is, if it's all right of me to ask."

"Oh, no, it's perfectly all right. My parents are Aurors. Two of the most advanced, actually. So they travel around every few years or so, working for whatever magical ministry needs them the most."

"What does it mean that the British Ministry of Magic is in need of a pair of highly skilled Aurors?" Lily asked, frowning.

"Oh, never mind that now, Lily," Elizabeth said, waving a hand dismissively. "Tell us, where did you live before your family moved here?"

"Well, we spent a good bit of time in Russia, Iceland, and Columbia, but there were times when we—"

And that was how the duo of Lily and Elizabeth became the trio of Lily, Elizabeth, and Summer.

-----------------

*---October, Fifth Year---*

"Come on Evans! You know you want me!" James taunted Lily by the lakeshore. Lily turned away from her conversation with Summer and Elizabeth to look in James' direction. She tilted her head, considering, and then finally got up to walk towards him.

"Ah, coming to your senses, Evans?"

"Yes. I--I should have done this a long time ago," she said as she walked shyly towards him. James grinned at her.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to crack".

Lily merely smiled. She reached out to hug him, but at the last moment she shoved him hard and he toppled into the lake. James surfaced, sputtering madly.

"Yes, I should have done that a long, long time ago," Lily said amusedly. James' jet-black hair looked even more ridiculous than it usually did, plastered to the sides of his head, and his glasses were wildly askew.

"Is that a no?" James asked her, quirking one eyebrow upward.

"Of course!" Lily said scathingly. "I would never go out with an arrogant prat like you! After all the things you've done to me and my friends, especially Severus, I'm surprised that you have the audacity to even _look_ at me, let alone _pursue_ me!" She then turned to storm back up to the castle. She didn't have to turn back around to know that Summer and Ellie were rushing to catch up with her.

"You have to admit, Lils, he is pretty cute, especially when he's all…damp, like that," Elizabeth said with a grin as she caught up to her friend. Summer nodded in agreement with Elizabeth's statement.

"You can have him then, Ellie!" Lily muttered, looking back at the lake and shooting Potter one last glare. But to her surprise, he was still sitting in the lake, looking pathetically dumbfounded and completely dismal. For a split second, Lily felt sorry for him.

But then all the misery Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and even Lupin, had put her through the last several years returned to the forefront of her mind, and she turned away with a contemptuous sniff.

Potter deserved what he got. And more.

Severus, with a little bit of reluctance, turned his gaze from the idiotic spectacle that was James Potter and watched as Lily and her friends made their way back up the sloping green lawns to the castle. He and Lily had grown apart over the years. She was always needling him about his choice of friends. "They're malicious and loathsome! I don't understand why you want to be around them," Lily often said with vehemence. But Lily didn't understand. Lily, who was so widely accepted and loved, could never understand why Severus could not pick and choose his friends. 'And regardless of what Lily thinks, Mulciber and Avery and the others have the right idea,' Severus thought to himself.

Severus often lamented the fact that Lily had drifted away from him. However, in the back of his mind, he felt that he had known this would happen for a long while. Ever since the first time he had seen Lily happily bounding into the Great Hall for lunch with Elizabeth in first year, he had somehow realized that Lily would not always be as close to him as she once had. Oh, she was still his friend. She would smile brightly at him from across the hallway from time to time, and he would joyously return the gesture. But Lily was wary of him now. And their friendship could never go back to the way it had been before she had chosen Gryffindor.

Or was it that _he_ had _not_ chosen Gryffindor…? No, Gryffindor could never have been an option for him.

Still, Severus held resolutely on to the hope that some day he could return to the easy friendship he used to have with Lily, or perhaps it could go even further than that…

Gryffindor or not, he still loved her.

-------------------

*---June, Fifth Year---*

Lily dashed up the stairs to he dormitory, where Summer and Elizabeth were waiting for her.

"Well. What did he say?" Summer asked.

"He said he's sorry about ten times. And he said he never meant to call me a Mudblood." Lily narrowed her eyes at the memory of what had happened that afternoon after the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L.

"He calls everyone else of Muggle parentage a Mudblood," Elizabeth said disgustedly.

"I—I just don't understand why he's become like this. He was my best friend." Lily turned towards the window and crossed her arms. "And now he's one of those Death Eater wannabes!" she said furiously.

A single tear of frustration escaped the corner of Lily's eyes. How had Severus changed so much?

Or maybe it wasn't that he'd changed. Maybe he was only now showing his true colors…

Severus stood in front of the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room, unable to move, still imagining Lily's fierce glare, still seeing the way the dull blaze of the fire in the room behind her had made her auburn hair glimmer with golden highlights as she turned furiously away from him, just a moment before. What had he done?

What had he _done_?

He had been so full of anger and rage when Potter had mercilessly tortured him. And then, to top it all off, Lily was there to bear witness to his total humiliation at the hands of the boy who so fervently sought her affections. But no, it got worse. He had to be _rescued_ by her… As if he was weak…

His rage had turned on all in the immediate vicinity.

And it had cost him Lily.

Severus' rage intensified as he thought of the reason the whole episode had begun in the first place. _Potter_.

*---February, Sixth Year---*

"I can't believe he broke up with me!" Lily moaned in a chair situated the corner of the common room.

"Shhhh! It's okay! He was a git anyways!" Summer said soothingly. She paused and said, as an afterthought, "And to do it by owl, too! Of all the immature and cowardly ways to break up with someone… Lily, you're _obviously_ too good for the likes of _him_!"

"Well, I know that now," Lily said with a sniff, "but it still _hurts_!" She grimaced as she buried her face in her hands. '_At least it hasn't come to outright sobbing yet_,' Lily thought to herself with some satisfaction.

"And to say he needs more time to concentrate on his studies… What a selfish idiot, he should have thought of that _before_ he got involved with someone! Come on Lils. Lets get you up stairs!" Elizabeth said, grabbing Lily by the arms and helping her out of her chair.

"And after we get you settled, we'll go down and bring you up some lunch," Summer said with concern.

As they disappeared up the girl's dormitory steps, James followed their retreating forms with worry in his eyes. When the edges of Summer's school robes vanished as she pushed Lily gently up the stairs, he turned and asked his friends:

"Why's Lily so upset?"

He wouldn't have been surprised to find out that none of them knew the answer, but he got what he wanted from the person he would have least expected to know.

"That bloke from Ravenclaw broke up with her this morning" Sirius informed him.

"How do _you_ know that?" James said, staring at Sirius dubiously.

"I was studying with Leah Bradshaw. She told me all about it when I walked her to class".

"Right. You were studying with a fifth year," Remus said, staring shrewdly at his friend. "Because, you know, we have the same classes, and everything…"

"Hey, she's a Ravenclaw! She's a freaking genius," Sirius said nonchalantly. "And that's how she knew about Riley and Lily in the first place. His whole house knew before he even sent the owl, thanks to his bigmouth best friend. Big news, it is. So, when we were through _studying_, she mentioned it to me." Sirius smirked mischievously.

"Hmmph," Peter snorted skeptically. "Studying, my arse."

"Ah, I'd advise you to keep your arse to yourself, Wormtail."

"I'd advise you to follow your own advice," Remus countered. Sirius crossed his arms defensively.

"Now just what are you—"

James had blocked out the inane banter of his friends long ago. He was focused on one thing: vengeance, on the loathsome Riley Connor.

'_What the hell kind of a name is Riley Connor, anyway…?!_' James thought to himself disgustedly.

The next day, Riley didn't turn up for class. In fact, he didn't show up until two weeks later in the girl's toilet. He was given detention for messing around in the Vanishing Cabinet, even though he claimed he was attacked and forced into it. However, when asked who the supposed attackers were, he merely stammered uncertainly, "I couldn't exactly—I—Well, um--See, they were…invisible." The professors scoffed at this, as no one but them and some highly advanced, and highly dependable, seventh years could achieve invisibility in any form, and Riley served his two weeks worth of detentions grudgingly. However, Riley was a slightly paranoid boy, and he did leave Professor Slughorn's many muck-filled cauldrons sparkling, just in case the mysterious force that had subdued him was some sort of spirit of vengeance that would unleash upon him more of his cosmic share of bad karma. This turn of events made Elizabeth, Summer, and especially Lily, enormously satisfied, which made James quite satisfied in turn.

A/N: This chapter has been re-edited. :)

I still have to decide whether I want to change to write the rest of the story in first person or keep it in third (As I *think* I said before, the rest of the story will be pretty much focused on Lily.) and I cannot make up my mind!!!! I'm so indesicive. If you have some thoughts on this decision, let me know!

Reviews are VERY much appreciated, and thanks again for reading!!! I love you all!!! :D


	5. Quidditch Cup

5- We Aren't Even Friends

*---May, Sixth Year---*

"Guess who, Evans!" a voice said as a pair of hands was placed over my eyes. I sighed as I pulled the hands off of my face and turned around. I would know that annoyingly arrogant voice anywhere.

"What do you want, Potter?" I asked wearily.

"Summer said she thought she saw someone from another house spying on us while we were practicing. I came to investigate. I must admit, I thought I would find a Slytherin spy, not such a wonderful surprise," he answered. I rolled my eyes at him.

'Summer,' I thought. 'I should've known'. I had told her that I would be coming up to the Quidditch pitch to check on her today. She probably cooked up this scheme on the way to practice. Summer and Ellie both find it, in my opinion, much too entertaining to try and place James and I in each other's paths.

At first they merely thought it was amusing to see James attempt to flatter me. And I know they thought my reactions to James' advances were comical enough on their own. But as they have continued to hint at me, I think they've become more and more serious. Much to my vexation.

"Obviously I am not a Slytherin spy!" I hissed at him. I was in Gryffindor House, just like Potter and the rest of the team.

"Obviously," said Potter laughingly. "What are you doing down here if you aren't spying?" I was slightly surprised that he didn't say anything like "You came to watch my brilliant flying, right?"

"I came to check on Summer and see how her arm was doing," I answered.

As the match that would decide which house won the Quidditch Cup loomed ever closer, the Slytherins had been increasing their hostilities against the Gryffindors. They had taken to attacking the Gryffindor Quidditch team members in the halls when no one was looking. Summer, being the Gryffindor seeker, had to deal with more bouts of violence than anyone else on the team. A couple of days ago while walking down a staircase to Transfiguration, Summer had been attacked with a Jelly-Legs curse by Jackie Fraye, a Slytherin 6th year, and a chaser on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

I'm not sure if Jackie saw the fact that Summer was on her way down a staircase as an extra bonus in her attack, or if she really isn't so much sadistic as stupid, but regardless of Jackie's character, the results of the curse had been awful.

Summer had fallen down the stairs and twisted her ankle, broken her throwing arm and wrist, and gotten a long and bloody scratch from her cheek to her chin. Madame Promfrey had been able to fix her up quite well, but she said that Summer's aim at the three goal posts might be off for a few days. I was relieved; the damage could have been much, much worse. Summer, however, was immensely disappointed by what Madame Promfrey had told her. Nonetheless, she was determined not to let the Slytherin team get her down.

At the mention of the Slytherins, Potter's face grew red with anger.

"Those bloody cowards! Attacking people when they aren't looking! Filthy—" Suddenly, Potter's face and temper cooled down and he said "I should've been there when Summer fell." He smiled impishly. "Then I could've defended her and cursed Fraye until she was unrecognizable".

I was astounded. I had never heard Potter talk about caring for anyone other than himself since we had started school. Sure, I really didn't talk to him a lot…but still. I stared at James for a while, scrutinizing him. What new tactic was this? Finally he broke the silence by saying "What's wrong Evans?"

I studied him a bit more before I answered lightly, "I just never knew you to think much about other people".

"What? Do you think I am an arrogant prat who only thinks about himself?"

"Yes, pretty much," I answered him bluntly. Potter's face lost all traces of a smile.

"Obviously you don't know me very well." He frowned and turned away from me. "As it happens, Evans, I think about many people other than myself every day. And there are quite a few people I think about a good deal _more_ than I think about myself," he added, sounding surprisingly passionate. Who would have thought that James Potter could sound passionate about anything other than Quidditch and his obvious disdain for Slytherins? He turned back to me and crossed his arms over his chest, as if to emphasize his point.

"Er… I suppose I should talk to you more, then." I said awkwardly. My statement sounded more like a question. His outburst had caught me off guard.

"Maybe you should. I know I would enjoy that," he said, smiling mischievously again.

"But not anymore than I can stand," I told him.

"Don't I already talk to you more than you can stand?"

"Yes. So I must be going now." Something flickered across Potter's face, but before I could identify it, it was gone.

"Talk to you later then, Lily." With that he picked up his broom and took off on it, flying swiftly back towards his team.

I walked back up to castle, thinking about what he had said. I wasn't sure I really wanted to get to know James Potter any better. I had just wanted him to leave me alone. I still thought he was a hopeless prat.

Later on in the sixth year girls dormitory I told Elizabeth about my strange conversation with Potter. I looked up at Elizabeth after I was finished and saw a satisfied smirk on her face. I asked her what she thought was so funny.

"Lily, Lily, even if I told you, you wouldn't listen to me," she replied, shaking her head. "I know you won't, as I've already told you countless time before."

"Ellie, what are you talking about?" I asked hotly. Elizabeth just shrugged. I glowered at her until she responded to me.

"Lily, you're much cleverer than this!" cried Elizabeth.

"Well spit it out and tell me what I am supposed to be so clever about!"

"Lily," Elizabeth said slowly. "Potter. Really. Likes. You. Not really as in he likes you a lot—well, he does, but that's not my _main_ point right now—but really as in he _truly_ likes you. He's not messing around with you like you're so determined to believe!" she exclaimed.

"Have you ever considered that maybe Potter won't leave me alone because I'm one of the few girls in the school that he _hasn't_ dated yet?"

"You know," Elizabeth said, considering, "he does flirt a lot, but he's never actually gone out with very many girls. Not as many as everyone seems to think he has, anyways."

"Well _that_ deserves a gold star," I said dryly.

"Oh come on Lily!" At this exclamation, Elli threw her hands into the air in a gesture of exasperation. Her dark brown hair was straight and smooth today, falling a few inches past her shoulders. It was beginning to look slightly unkempt, as if it were a reflection of her frustration for me. "Just give the poor boy a chance! It's not like you have to marry him!" Elizabeth stared forcefully at me.

"Poor boy?" I stared at her incredulously.

"Lils, you know I'm on your side. I have been since this all started in fifth year. But that's the thing—this has been going on for a long time. Just think: if you go out with him and you still hate him, you'll get him off your back. Well, for a while, at least." Her words sort of made sense, but who's to say that James would leave me alone after only one measly date? I didn't want to risk it.

"And besides, if you go out with James, you can put a good word in for me with Sirius," Ellie said sweetly, batting her long, smoky eyelashes at me. Then her eyes filled with a playful light that I knew all too well.

"So you and Potter, Black and I, and Summer can go out with Remus. Too bad we don't have an extra friend for Peter, but I'm sure we could find someone!" She said all this very quickly and in one breath.

I glanced at my friend and burst out laughing. At that moment Summer walked in from Quidditch practice. She looked over at and me, practically rolling on the floor, and Elizabeth sitting comfortably on her bed, staring into space and looking sly, and said "Okay, what boys are we talking about?" She knew us so perfectly.

"Well," I explained to her. "I came back a little while ago from having a slightly civilized conversation with James, and Ellie is trying to convince me to give him a shot to get him off my back—what else is new? Then she started practically planning all our weddings to one of the Marauders. Are you by any chance harboring any romantic notions towards Remus Lupin?"

"Not at all," Summer said as she casually glanced around the room. Then she drew her eyes back onto me and smiled both mischievously and guiltily.

"So…" she said casually. "How did that meeting go?"

"You brat! You knew it was me over there!" I cried at her, still breathless with laughter from Elizabeth's silliness. I wasn't really mad at Summer, and she knew it, too, so she just smiled at me.

"So are you and Potter an item now?"

"We. Aren't. Even. FRIENDS!" I cried. I stared accusingly at Elizabeth and continued, "And you always say the best couples always start out as friends."

"You should just talk to him more, like he told you to," Ellie chastised me jokingly. I rolled my eyes at her. Please.

The next few days passed by quickly, and soon the much anticipated Quidditch match, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, was upon the occupants of Hogwarts. Luckily, Summer was completely recovered from the Slytherin's assault. Elizabeth and I left breakfast early, decked out in Gryffindor colors of red and gold, so we could get the best seats. We also needed to set up the gigantic banner we had made to cheer on Summer and the rest of the team. It flashed different messages like 'GO SUMMER!', 'Lions = Winners!,' and 'Gryffindor All The Way!' Ellie wanted to put 'Gryffindor seekers do it better!' but I wouldn't let her. It was on black cloth and the words flashed red and gold every message, so it really stood out. Ellie and I love showering attention on our friend when she has a Quidditch match to play.

Soon more and more students were taking their seats in the stands. The buzzing of excited voices anticipating the match was all around me. Students were arguing and betting over the outcome of the match, and I caught more than one female voice simpering over what wonderful Quidditch players the boys on the team are, especially Black and Potter. I sighed exasperatedly.

Suddenly Ryan Jordan, the fifth year Gryffindor who was commentating, called out the last names of each player as both teams walked out onto the field.

"Playing for Gryffindor: Williams, Gutel, DuPaquier, Potter, Miranda, Black, and Lee!!!" said Ryan with much excitement. Loud cheers from every house except Slytherin accompanied the arrival of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Playing for Slytherin" Ryan continued, with noticeably less enthusiasm. "Petoskey, Fraye, Hollis, Carneillo, Zavalla, Malfoy, and Ibbings."

The young Madame Hooch walked out onto the field where the players were gathered. She released the Snitch and then the bludgers flew high up into the air. Quickly she threw up the big red Quaffle and blew her whistle before the bludgers returned. The players shot into the air. Immediately the supporters for each team began waving their flags. The game was on.

Gryffindor immediately gained control of the Quaffle, thanks to Adriana Gutel. Soon we were 30 points ahead of the Slytherins, having scored 3 times.

"There goes Potter with the Quaffle. He aims. Fires. SCORE!!! Take that, you slimy Slytherins! Not to be biased or anything," he added quickly, glancing at Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, who was supervising Ryan's commentating, as usual. She was too engrossed in the game to pay good attention to him, though.

I looked around for Summer and Ibbings. The two team seekers were circling above everyone else, eyes darting quickly around the field. I saw Potter fly under the two seekers, and I followed his complicated flying patterns for a while. A groan from Elizabeth brought me back down to earth.

"What? What happened?" I asked her.

"We're tied now!" Elizabeth cried out unhappily. I looked at the scoreboard and saw that the score was now 50 to 50.

"Look! Look at Lee and Ibbings!" shouted Ryan Jordan. Everyone turned to watch the seekers pull into equally spectacular dives. They had obviously spotted the Snitch. All of a sudden, Ibbings rammed himself into Summer and her familiar blonde ponytail flew wildly around her head as she spun out of control. Luckily, she was able to skillfully pull herself out of the downward spiral, but both seekers had lost track of the Snitch.

The other players had unconsciously paused to watch the seekers seek the Snitch, but after the action stopped, play resumed. Potter made yet another goal. Apparently he was trying to show the Slytherins, Jackie Fraye in particular, that it took a lot more than a few cowardly attacks in the halls to get his team down, and he was doing a very good job of it, making goal after goal.

The score was now 90 to 60, with Gryffindor in the lead, and the game was getting dirty. Some players had taken to attacking the opposing team. Samantha Carneillo flew over Jared Williams while he had the Quaffle and kicked him hard in the head so he would drop the ball. She tried to protest to Madame Hooch that it was an accident, but Jared was awarded two penalty shots, which he made. The Gryffindors cheered loudly, but the Slytherins made their insults and boos heard, too.

In retaliation to Samantha's attack on Jared, Amy Miranda and Sirius Black, the two Gryffindor beaters, smacked the bludgers ferociously towards the Slytherin chasers with renewed vigor. Amy knocked the wind out of Samantha, and Sirius hit his bludger towards Damien Hollis, who was forced to drop the Quaffle as he swerved to avoid the hard black ball speeding towards his head. Potter zoomed out from under Hollis with the Quaffle in his hands and scored yet another goal. Now we were up 60 points from Slytherin.

Then the seekers went into another dive. A lot of people, including Elizabeth and I, stood up to get a better view and to cheer on Summer.

The two seekers kept banging into each other to throw the other player off, but neither would give in. They were plummeting towards the ground quickly. Suddenly they were upon the green grass, and Ibbings crashed into it, rolling jerkily along, his broom splintering apart. Summer pulled out of the dive with a triumphant look and the Snitch held in her right hand, high above her head. The Slytherins moans were cancelled out by the Gryffindor's wild cheers. We had won 260 to 60. Elizabeth and I were hugging each other and jumping up and down. The crowd clamored down the stands to celebrate and congratulate the team.

Ellie and I almost knocked Summer down as we ran out to her on the field, and we were only the first to nearly do so.

I pulled away for a few minutes and surveyed the celebratory air on the field with satisfaction. I was sure that Gryffindor tower would not be the only house rejoicing over the defeat of the devious Slytherin team tonight.


End file.
